Sports betting: Vegas Vic picks the Final Four winners

Inquirer handicapper Vegas Vic makes his picks for the NCAA Tournament games and passes on some knowledge about Friday’s late NBA contest.

Vegas Vic is gonna reach back into the past.

Can’t remember which one of the 279 websites where I read this, but this is the first time in 31 years that one of the so called Blue Bloods will not be in the Final Four. We’re talking North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, UCLA and Louisville. That’s THIRTY ONE YEARS! WOW!

Now for the winner of the first game Saturday between Virginia and Auburn.

And speaking of Blue Bloods, Charles Barkley’s Tigers beat Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky, back-to-back-to-back, to make it to their first EVER Final Four. That was VERY impressive. And the last W against Kentucky was WITHOUT one of their best players, Chuma Okeke. Auburn rumbles into the party on a 12-0 straight up PERFECTO and has covered eight of the last 10.

Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers come in with an impressive resume as well, winning 13 of the last 14, but against the spread, the 'Hoos have managed to cover only three of the last seven.

Not necessarily calling for the outright upset, but if you get a 5.5-point number, I would buy the hook, push the line to +6, and watch Sir Charles cry on national TV. Crying because, as we all know, Barkley is a ferocious sports bettor, and he’ll be all over the Tigers plus the points. And so will we, but unlike Sir Charles, we’re throwing down only $55 to win $50 on Auburn.

In the nightcap

Double V is gonna roll with Texas Tech over Michigan State. The line is 2.5, but I’m buying the hook and push Tech to +3.

What else can the Red Raiders do? They rolled into the Sweet 16 against the second-best defensive team in college hoops, Michigan, and blew the Wolverines away, 63-44. Then they looked at the daunting task of facing the No. 1 offense in the country in the Elite 8, Gonzaga. You think the Raiders were nervous? Nah. They held the Zags to ONLY 69 points, almost 20 points below their season average of 87.6.

>>READ MORE: Texas Tech and one bettor’s $300,000 dilemma

What about any other matchups with the Big Ten? Gotcha. Aside from the Michigan game, Tech stomped on Nebraska, 70-52. More? OK. TT has won 13 of the last 14 straight up, covered seven of the last eight, and steps onto the court in Minneapolis working on an 8-0 spread PERFECTO on the road.

It ain’t gonna be easy, but we’re backing the beard — Texas Tech coach Chris Beard — with $55 to win another $50.

If you’re staying up late Friday, Vic has some numbers for that Portland at Denver game (10:30 p.m.). Denver is laying 6, and the total is 215.5.

The Nuggets might not catch the Warriors for the top seed in the Western Conference, but you know they’re gonna bring some heat to this ESPN matchup against the Blazers.

Denver has been on a sweet roll, winning nine of the last 13 straight up, but against the spread, the Nuggs have covered only four of the last 12. They’ve also been stingy with points allowed and have gone Under in 10 of the last 12 games.

Portland brings a similar portfolio to the table, winning eight of the last nine straight up, but has done WAY better against the spread, covering four of the last five.

Looking at the big picture, the Nuggets’ overall spread log sits at 40-38, 24-15 at home and 29-26 as a favorite. The Blazers’ overall spread mark is 44-33-1, 21-18 on the road and 13-15 as an underdog.